When We Think We Know Better Than God

February 2, 2017

This morning, I was reading in Exodus 15-17 about Moses and the Israelites in the wilderness.

YOU CAN READ THE STORY HERE IF YOU NEED A REFRESHER OR AREN'T FAMILIAR, BUT I'LL BASICALLY WALK YOU THROUGH IT.

So, the Lord had led the Israelites out from slavery in Egypt in a way that had seemed impossible without Him. Remember all the plagues and the deaths of first born sons and the frogs everywhere? Remember the parting of the Red Sea and the dramatic escape these people made while being chased by Pharaoh’s men? (Are scenes from The Prince of Egyptplaying in your mind?)

The Israelites were free from their bondage, their pain, their captivity. They had been trapped for so long, but it had become normal. And now, in the wild, away from everything they had known, they're struggling to believe that God will provide, that He will sustain them, that He will be with them. They want to go back to Egypt where they were comfortable even in their slavery. They don’t want to stay in this wilderness where things seem unsure and they actually have to trust Him. They’re whiny and ungrateful and pretty annoying, honestly.

When they get thirsty, they complain that there isn't more water because they think they know better.

When He sends manna from heaven to feed them every morning, they hoard it because they think they know better.

When He gives them a command, they disobey because think they know better.

When He tells them to rest on the Sabbath, they go out to gather anyway because they think they know better.

If that isn't convicting...

The Lord leads me out of hard things, out of places where I was in the chains of shame or brokenness or fear, and when I get to the wild place of freedom, I stop believing He is good for me. I stop trusting He will provide.

I think I know better.

I want to go back, because back there was a place I knew and I understood, and this wilderness requires faith and belief I'm not sure I have. What’s that quote about the devil you know and the devil you don’t? That’s so real. But God? He sees me and he hears me. He does provide. He always gives enough for the day. His manna is the perfect provision, the perfect sustenance, the perfect gift...if only I trusted and believed and lived with the assurance that He knows better. He knows.He sees and He loves and He hears and He provides and He always, always knows better.

In the unknowns, He is there.

In the confusion, He is there.

In the new places, in the wild places, in the stormy places, He is there.

There is no place He will lead me to that He has not already been, and He will never leave my side on the journey.

What am I so afraid of?

The story in Exodus ends with Aaron saving two quarts of manna, so that all future generations will see the bread and know that the Lord fed his people in the wilderness when he brought them out of slavery.

People of God: let us trust that He always has and always will provide ALL that we need. He is our daily bread.

We can trust Him.

He knows better.

Always.